Mom Kills 4-Year-Old Daughter In Murder-Suicide After Losing Custody Battle

A Texas mother shot and killed her 4-year-old daughter before turning the gun on herself just hours after a judge placed the child in her father’s primary care, according to Houston police.

The young girl, identified by her family as Vivian Savella, was found dead inside a west Houston home Tuesday evening. Her mother, identified in media reports and court records as 35-year-old Cibelle Savella, suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound and was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. Police announced Thursday that she had died from her injuries.

Houston police responded to the home on Terra Reserve Place at approximately 5:45 p.m. after receiving a report of a shooting. Investigators said Vivian’s stepfather and a babysitter were downstairs when they heard gunfire coming from upstairs. They went to the child’s room and discovered Vivian and her mother suffering from gunshot wounds.

Vivian was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooting came just hours after a custody hearing involving Vivian’s parents. Houston Police Lt. Larry Crowson said the hearing “didn’t go well for the mother” and that investigators believed she returned home before shooting her daughter and herself.

A judge had placed Vivian in the primary care of her father, Aaron Savella, earlier that day. According to the family, Vivian was supposed to be transferred to her father that same evening.

ALERT: A Texas woman lost custody of her 4-year-old daughter and proceeded to kill her daughter and then killed herself.

Cibelle Savella, 35, lost primary custody of her child, Vivian, and was supposed to hand her over to her ex-husband, Aaron Savelle.

Instead, Cibelle shot her… pic.twitter.com/TWuaF8xpIW

— E X X ➠A L E R T S (@ExxAlerts) October 2, 2026

Court-record reporting indicates the ruling gave Aaron temporary exclusive authority over major decisions involving Vivian, including where she would live as well as aspects of her education and medical care. Cibelle’s visitation was restricted to supervised contact.

Additional restrictions reportedly included a requirement that Cibelle, who was originally from Brazil, only speak Portuguese with Vivian when a supervisor who understood the language was present.

She was also reportedly restricted from attending certain school and extracurricular activities and ordered to pay child support and a portion of the girl’s uncovered medical expenses. The full circumstances and evidence that led the court to impose those restrictions have not been publicly disclosed.

Vivian’s family released a statement through attorneys following her death, describing the 4-year-old as deeply loved.

“Our family is devastated. Vivian was four years old. She was loved without limit by her father, Aaron, and by everyone whose life she touched,” the family said.

The statement said Aaron had relied on the legal process throughout the custody dispute and was expecting his daughter to come home after the judge’s decision.

“He trusted the courts. He followed every order. He waited for the process to work,” the family said, adding that Vivian “was supposed to come home to him that evening. She never did.”

Charlotte Rainwater, an attorney representing Aaron, told KHOU that she had never encountered an outcome like this during nearly three decades practicing family law.

“I don’t think anyone in this courtroom on Tuesday contemplated this could be the outcome,” Rainwater said.

Houston police are treating the deaths as an apparent murder-suicide. Investigators have not publicly reported that the stepfather or babysitter had any involvement in the shooting.